A Report on Demographics and Pollution in Metro Atlanta

Transcription

1 A Report on Demographics and Pollution in Metro Atlanta March 2012

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3 This report was written and compiled by: GreenLaw is dedicated to preventing air and water pollution that endangers human health and degrades Georgia s natural resources. GreenLaw achieves these goals by providing free high quality legal and technical assistance to environmental organizations and community groups throughout Georgia. Through these services, GreenLaw compels government and industry to take the steps necessary to protect Georgia s citizens and the environment. GreenLaw champions the belief that every Georgian young and old, rich and poor has the right to breathe clean air, drink clean water, live in healthy communities, and enjoy our state s natural beauty. Principal Authors: David Deganian and Justine Thompson Data acquisition, interpretation, GIS based spatial data analysis and GIS web development provided by: Principal Contributors: Nick DiLuzio, MEM/MF, CCF, James R. Henderson, P.E., and Kathryn A. Wurzel, MPH, DABT Conducted in part with funding by The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, Patagonia, the University of Georgia School of Law s Public Interest Fellowship, the Waterfall Foundation, and the many individuals, businesses, law firms and foundations who support GreenLaw s work year after year. Special thanks to: Ashten Bailey, Robert Betts, Chandra Brown, Jacqueline Echols, Ph.D., Nirouz Elhammali, Helen Kim Ho, Na Taki Obsborne Jelks, Tal Kitron, Dr. Yomi Noibi, Seandra Rawls, Monica Robinson, MaKara Rumley, Scott Sykes, Midge Sweet, and Rachel Whetstone.

5 The Patterns of Pollution: A Report on Demographics and Pollution in Metro Atlanta Executive Summary Executive Summary Take a look at a map of the 14-county metro Atlanta region. Now place a pin on the map to represent the location of every polluting factory, toxic release, sewage overflow, and all other points where pollution may originate. When you finish, you will see thousands of pins on the map. You will also begin to see some clear patterns: pollution points are generally found in higher numbers in populous areas, close to railways, and in industrial centers. Now, overlay demographic characteristics, including race and income, onto the map and you will see which populations are living closest to these pollution points. With some study, you will see that populations of minorities and the poor are living in closer proximity to pollution points than are other populations. So too are those who are not fluent in English. Placing pins on a map cannot show you all of the complexities of this information. For this reason, we created the Patterns of Pollution report. Here, we analyze publicly available data to identify eight types of air, water, and land pollution in the 14-county metro Atlanta region. i These points of pollution were then cross-referenced with seven demographic characteristics of the people living in the region. ii By inputting this data into mapping technology, an overall pattern reveals itself whereby a person s race, income, and language have a direct correlation to his distance from pollution points. iii Using this methodology, we: 1) analyze general patterns of pollution across the region; 2) compare the demographic traits iv of high-pollution and low-pollution blocks v ; and 3) identify environmental justice hotspots where the correlation between race, poverty, and pollution is strongest. vi Although we did not analyze pollutants emitted from car exhaust, illegal dumping activity, or the myriad other ways in which pollution enters our lives, the general patterns of pollution evidenced by the eight kinds of pollution points identified in this report show clearly that race is the characteristic with the strongest correlation to pollution. That is, the greater the pollution, the higher the minority population. For example, blocks with a minority population 50 percent or higher have more than double the number of pollution points than blocks where minorities make up less than 10 percent of the population. Pollution points are also more abundant near linguistically isolated households for whom English is not their first language. Blocks with linguistic isolation rates over 20 percent have more than three times as many pollution points in close proximity on average than blocks where less than 5 percent of households are linguistically isolated. 14 Counties Included in the Study: Paulding Douglas Cherokee Cobb Fulton Clayton Forsyth DeKalb Gwinnett Rockdale Hall Barrow Fayette Henry ES :: 1

6 GreenLaw White 74.6% Comparing Race and Prevalence of Pollution Low-Pollution Blocks 25.4% Non-White The contrasting traits of high-pollution and low-pollution blocks further elucidate the correlation of pollution points to demographic characteristics. For example, lowpollution blocks have an average minority population of 25.4 percent while the average minority population of high-pollution blocks is nearly double at 44.2 percent (Figure Comparing Race and Prevalence of Pollution). Our investigation also revealed 52 environmental justice hotspots where the correlation between race, poverty, and pollution is strongest. For example, more pollution points are located near a 1.5 mile stretch of Fulton Industrial Boulevard than in any other single block in the 14-county area. Over 80 percent of people living on this stretch are minorities and 20 percent live below federal poverty levels. These demographic levels are far outside the norm in the region. The correlation between these factors is undeniable and raises concern about the mechanisms used to site polluting facilities in metro Atlanta. White 55.8% High-Pollution Blocks *Regional Average of Non-White Population = 31.9% 44.2% Non-White Disparities in pollution, much like the ones shown to be prevalent in this report, sparked a national environmental justice movement 30 years ago that was built on the simple principle that minorities and low-income residents should not be subjected to disproportionate levels of pollution. Yet our results show that metro Atlanta is currently facing the same social-pollution disparities that existed three decades ago. This is troubling because these populations often lack the resources to participate fully in the processes that determine where polluting facilities with the potential to negatively affect their health and quality of life are located. vii Today, environmental justice is defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. viii However, environmental justice viewed more broadly is aligned with the growing sustainability movement as proponents of both movements seek to create livable communities for all people, present and future. Environmental justice laws and policies are tools that can be utilized to reach this goal. ES :: 2

7 The Patterns of Pollution: A Report on Demographics and Pollution in Metro Atlanta Executive Summary In part, the problems that exist today have arisen because Georgia s Environmental Protection Division (EPD) does not have these tools in place. Should a corporation seek to place a polluting facility in an environmental justice hotspot, like Fulton Industrial Boulevard, there is no policy or law requiring EPD to consider the demographics or overall social and economic burdens of the area s residents before issuing a permit. There are also no effective means for a resident to provide input in decision-making before a permit is issued nor to partner with EPD to participate in monitoring and compliance, a practice that would allow EPD to take advantage of residents commitment to protecting their community and allow residents to draw support from the agency for assistance. Georgia now lingers in a shrinking minority of only five states that have not adopted a policy, program, or initiative to directly address environmental disparities. There is a pressing need, as evidenced by this report s results, for it to do so. EPD is not the only player that has a say in where pollution points are found on the map. Local governments generally make the initial decision about where industries generating pollution can be sited, often in the context of zoning laws. These local bodies have the power to require increased review when a corporation seeks to place a polluting facility in an already overburdened minority or economically depressed neighborhood. They can also use their permitting powers to reduce adverse impacts when industrial and residential areas are located near each other. However, most local governments in metro Atlanta have not altered their laws and policies to do so....low-pollution blocks have an average minority population of 25.4 percent while the average minority population of highpollution blocks is nearly double at 44.2 percent. This report puts state and local leaders, as well as metro Atlanta s citizens, on notice that minority, linguistically isolated, and low-income communities are unduly burdened by pollution. More importantly, it provides four recommendations, aimed at state, regional, and local decision-makers, for the adoption of policies and laws integrating environmental justice concerns into the workings of Georgia s state and local governments. The recommendations call for: #1 :: Advocates The creation of an alliance of metro Atlanta environmental justice advocates #2 :: Working Group The formation of a working group of leaders in business and government to work collaboratively to address how environmental justice issues can be incorporated into decision-making #3 :: EPA Direct federal funding and guidance to Georgia s state and local governments for the implementation of environmental justice efforts #4 :: EPD State environmental decision-makers to adopt an environmental justice policy that promotes the health of all of Georgia s citizens and requires environmental equity in its practices. Advocates RECOMMENDATION 1 RECOMMENDATION 4 EPD Working Group RECOMMENDATION 3 RECOMMENDATION 2 EPA We can all benefit from practices that protect the health of Georgia s citizens and promote environmental equity. We are hopeful that our results and recommendations will trigger conversations about the environmental burdens faced in metro Atlanta and that these conversations will lead to meaningful changes in the way that environmental justice is considered at multiple levels of government in Georgia. ES :: 3

8 GreenLaw Executive Summary Notes i The eight types of pollution points are 1) permitted stationary air pollution facilities; 2) National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) wastewater permitted facilities; 3) Hazardous Waste Inventory (HSI) sites; 4) Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) sites (2010); 5) Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund ) sites; 6) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste storage sites; 7) active solid waste landfills; and 8) permit violations and enforcement actions taken by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD). ii The seven demographic characteristics drawn from U.S. Bureau of the Census data are 1) high school graduation rate; 2) poverty rate; 3) median family income; 4) median housing value; 5) linguistic isolation rate; 6) Non-white population rate; and 7) vacant housing. iii The 14 counties are Barrow, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Paulding, and Rockdale. A grid of square blocks, each measuring 10 square kilometers (referred to as blocks ), was superimposed over the region to create a neutral geography for analyzing various characteristics. iv Blocks were assigned a score for each of the seven demographic characteristic and this number was summed to obtain a demographic score for each block. v Of the 1,282 blocks in the region, 741 were identified as low-pollution blocks with no pollution points and 105 were identified as high-pollution blocks. High-pollution blocks have 9-55 pollution points, placing them in the top quantile (1/5th) in the region for the number of pollution points while low-pollution blocks are in the bottom quantile with 0 pollution points. vi About four percent of all blocks in metro Atlanta have been identified as environmental justice hotspots. To qualify as a hotspot, a block must fall in the top quantile for both pollution points and demographic characteristics in the region. vii We encourage residents in the 14-county metro Atlanta area to visit our website www. greenlaw.org/patternsofpollution and find out what points of pollution are located within a three mile radius of their homes or businesses. This unique tool, created in concert with experts at Newfields, shows us the environmental challenges we face individually and as a community. viii Envtl. Prot. Agency, Environmental Justice, Compliance, and Enforcement, epa.gov/environmentaljustice/ (last visited Mar. 7, 2012). ES :: 4

9 The Patterns of Pollution: A Report on Demographics and Pollution in Metro Atlanta Introduction Introduction The metro Atlanta region has not fared well in recent comparisons to other areas in the United States in regard to pollution and its effect on the quality of life of its residents. In 2011, the region was ranked as the 23rd most ozonepolluted city in the country (of 277 metropolitan areas) by the American Lung Association 1 and was named an Asthma Capital by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. 2 Metro Atlanta received national attention in 2009 when it was named by Forbes Magazine as the most toxic city in the United States. 3 It also tied for 7th among U.S. metro areas for its number of unhealthy air days in and struggles to meet federal Clean Air Act standards for dangerous air pollutants. The pollution that exists in metro Atlanta does not touch all residents in the same way. In 1995, the City of Atlanta reported that more routine releases of toxics occur in neighborhoods that are poorer, and to a lesser extent, have larger percentages of African Americans. 5 These finding are important because toxic releases and other pollution can result in serious health ramifications. Impacts on fetal and childhood health provide the most clearly defined link between pollution exposure and health effects. Birth weights can be negatively affected by air pollution, 6 which can also cause DNA damage 7 and slow childhood neurodevelopment. 8 Children of mothers who lived near a facility designated by the federal government as a Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) site while pregnant may be more likely to later develop brain cancer, especially if the site released carcinogens. 9 Studies also show an excess risk of birth anomalies in populations living near landfills. 10 Considering these potential health effects, we should understand which populations are living closest to and potentially being most impacted by pollution in metro Atlanta. Our report does just this by identifying points where pollution originates in the region and the demographic characteristics, such as race, language, and income, of those living in close proximity to these pollution points. Our Patterns of Pollution report provides: 1. A brief history of the national environmental justice movement and an assessment of the movement in Georgia and metro Atlanta; 2. The results of our analysis of the correlation between race, language, poverty, and pollution; 3. The identification of environmental justice hotspots where the correlation between race, poverty, and pollution points is strongest; and 4. Recommendations for meaningful action to be taken in response to the patterns of pollution. :: 5

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11 The Patterns of Pollution: A Report on Demographics and Pollution in Metro Atlanta Response to Injustice Response to Injustice The Origin of the Environmental Justice Movement The environmental justice movement rose to national attention 30 years ago in North Carolina as a direct reaction by minorities to environmental inequities. 11 There, protestors marched and were arrested in non-violent protest against the planned siting of a poly-chlorinated biphenyl (PCB) landfill in Warren County, where African Americans composed 65 percent of the population. Though unsuccessful in thwarting plans for the landfill, their demonstrations prompted the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) to undertake a study examining the link between minorities and the siting of hazardous waste landfills. 13 In that study, produced in 1983, researchers concluded that in the Southeast, African Americans comprised the majority of the population in three out of every four communities where off-site hazardous waste landfills were located. 14 In 1987, the United Church of Christ followed up the GAO report with its Toxic Waste and Race study. 15 By examining the racial and socio-economic characteristics of communities surrounding commercial hazardous waste facilities and toxic waste sites, researchers found race to be the most potent variable in predicting where these facilities were located more powerful than household income, the value of homes and the estimated amount of hazardous waste generated by industry. 16 As evidence of environmental injustice mounted, citizen groups across the country organized to form defenses against facilities they suspected were contaminating their communities. In 1988, residents formed West Harlem Environmental Action (WEACT) to mobilize against water quality and air pollution violations occurring at their neighborhood s North Ridge Sewage Treatment Plant. 17 A year later, residents living in Cancer Alley, Louisiana s infamously polluted corridor, organized The Great Louisiana Toxic March to bring attention to the living conditions of those living in close proximity to the area s numerous industrial plants. 18 Growing attention brought with it efforts to pass groundbreaking federal environmental justice legislation, but these efforts were unsuccessful. However, in 1994 President Clinton issued Executive Order (E.O ), compelling each federal agency to make environmental justice part of its mission by developing a strategy that identifies and addresses disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, or activities on minority populations and low-income populations. 19 Legal challenges to environmental permitting decisions have also been an important part of the environmental justice movement. To make claims of discrimination in the siting of polluting facilities and the unequal enforcement of environmental laws, advocates initially tried to employ the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment which imposes a general restraint on the governmental use of classifications, such as race and gender. 20 However, even when a pattern of permitting polluting facilities in minority and low-income communities shows a clearly disparate impact, advocates have been unable to make the legally required showing that a state made permitting decisions with a discriminatory intent. 21 As a result, these legal theories had little success. In light of this difficult standard, lawyers honed in on Title VI, Section 602 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting funding receipts from action that has a discriminatory impact, regardless of intent. 22 This strategy proved successful in 2001 when a federal court held that a state agency receiving federal funding was obligated under Title VI to :: 7

12 GreenLaw consider disparate impacts based on race when determining whether to issue a permit. 23 This victory was short-lived however. The U.S. Supreme Court decided two years later that individuals do not have legal standing to bring Title VI cases, thereby reversing previous cases on section Presently, only government agencies may bring disparate impact claims under Section 602. This foreclosure of legal claims sent lawyers seeking to make these claims back to the drawing board. They now rely, for the most part, on traditional federal environmental laws such as citizen suit provisions of the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act, as well as increasingly available state environmental justice laws. Environmental Justice Today Environmental inequalities today are, in many ways, as pervasive as they were decades ago. In fact, a 2007 follow-up study by the United Church of Christ revealed that racial disparities in the distribution of commercial hazardous wastes across the nation were actually greater in 2007 than they were 20 years earlier. 25 Since President Clinton s E.O , federal agencies have struggled to create tangible improvements in how federal agencies evaluate the siting of facilities in minority and lowincome communities. 26 In 2004, ten years after E.O was first signed, an audit by the EPA Office of Inspector General 2004 revealed a number of failures by EPA, including no identification of a clear definition of environmental justice, no guidance to allow for consistent implementation of environmental justice programs across regions, and a failure to identify the minority and low-income populations addressed in E.O However, under the Obama administration, the EPA recently renewed its environmental justice efforts by making environmental justice an agency priority 28 and launching Plan EJ 2014, which provides a roadmap for EPA to integrate environmental justice considerations into its programs at various levels. 29 Beyond the federal realm, most states have adopted environmental justice policies aimed at ensuring that procedures are in place to consider the racial and economic make-up of communities when permitting. Illinois, for example, adopted an Environmental Justice Policy that increases public participation in potential environmental justice communities and creates an EJ Grievance Procedure. 30 At the local level, Cincinnati passed the first-in-the-nation Environmental Justice Ordinance in 2009, requiring new or expanding industrial facilities to receive an Environmental Justice Permit prior to beginning operation. 31 Environmental Justice in Georgia All of Georgia s neighboring states have state environmental justice initiatives, programs, or employees conducting environmental justice work at the state level. Georgia does not (Figure 1). 32 Georgia s Environmental Protection Division (EPD), which issues state and federal permits for the operation of facilities related to air emissions, water quality, hazardous waste, solid waste, and water supply, does not have a system to consider environmental justice when 8 ::

13 The Patterns of Pollution: A Report on Demographics and Pollution in Metro Atlanta Response to Injustice Figure Environmental Justice Program Established 2006 Environmental Justice Unit Established & Appoints an Environmental Justice Coordinator AR LA MS AL TN KY WV VA NC SC GA FL 1998 The Center For Environmental Equity & Justice Established 2000 Environmental Equity Initiative Established 2007 Multi-agency South Carolina Environmental Justice Advisory Committee Established reviewing permit applications or when taking any other actions related to permitting. For example, the agency did not consider the disparate burden on African Americans when it approved a permit for the siting of the Longleaf Energy Station in 2007, 33 a coal-fired power plant proposed in Early County, Georgia, which would have emitted nine million tons of carbon dioxide and tens of thousands of tons of other pollutants that cause respiratory problems, heart attacks, asthma attacks and premature death. 34 Early County s population is 49.6 percent African American and close to 30 percent of the population lives below federal poverty levels. 35 A review of the 2010 publication, Environmental Justice for All: A Fifty State Survey of Legislation, Policies and Cases, by the American Bar Association and the University of California, Hastings College of Law reveals that many states consider site demographics in environmental decision-making and are seeking new ways to ensure equal protection from environmental harm. 36 Currently, 27 states have an employee, working group or taskforce dedicated to environmental justice. Also, 18 states have a policy or law in effect that directly addresses environmental justice. This leaves Georgia in a small minority of states not directly addressing environmental justice (Figure 2). Georgia s anti-concentration law is the only state law requiring some consideration of environmental justice principles. 37 The law, passed in 2004, restricts the number of solid waste facilities that may be sited within a two-mile radius of three or more other solid waste facilities. Though the law serves the important purpose of effectively preventing the clustering of landfills in Georgia, it does not address the demographics of the area where these facilities may be sited. Otherwise, legislative efforts addressing environmental justice have been unsuccessful. No Law or Policy 5 50 UNITED STATES 18 No Environmental Justice Policy or Law Environmental Justice Employee 27 Figure 2 :: 9

14 GreenLaw The Georgia Environmental Justice Act of 1995 is the only law proposed in Georgia s legislature that would have required EPD to directly address the demographics of an area prior to permitting. The bill would have created a 22-member Environmental Justice Commission charged with issuing reports on facilities permitted by EPA or EPD which pose a threat to human health to be concentrated in low-income neighborhoods and neighborhoods populated largely by African Americans. 38 The bill also would have required specific pollution prevention goals and baseline studies prior to the approval of any permit for the construction of a facility in an area with a majority low-income or minority population. The bill did not pass. Presented two years later, the Environmental Justice Act of 1997 was also unsuccessful. The legislation would have mandated that EPD perform risk assessments on reported toxic releases which the agency deemed to have a high potential to affect the public health or environment of nearby communities and to reduce any release deemed by a risk assessment to be unacceptable. 39 Introduced nearly a decade later in 2006, the Georgia Brownfields Rescue, Redevelopment, Community Revitalization and Environmental Justice Act would have promoted the revitalization of brownfields, including the unacceptably high percentage of brownfields occurring in low-income and minority communities. 40 It also did not pass. Environmental Justice in Metro Atlanta Much can be done in the metro Atlanta region to incorporate environmental justice into decision-making. Local governments across the country, including Fulton County in metro Atlanta, have adopted environmental justice policies or laws at the municipal level that encourage consideration of environmental justice before permitting a source of pollution. Fulton County is an anomaly in the region in this regard as most local governments in the region, including the City of Atlanta, currently have no enforceable policy or law regarding environmental justice. In 1996, Fulton County s comprehensive plan was amended to ensure that the placement of both private and public uses which may be considered environmentally adverse are not concentrated in low-income communities or areas where a high percentage of the population belongs to racial and ethnic minorities. 41 Shortly thereafter, commissioners rejected a proposed Olympic Games waste site in an African American community. 42 In 2010, Fulton County adopted an Environmental Justice Program to increase consideration of environmental justice and health impacts in project planning and implementation and to create an environmental planner position to implement the program. 43 Other efforts have been and continue to be made to incorporate environmental justice in metro Atlanta. The Atlanta Regional Commission, a 10-county regional planning agency, incorporates environmental justice into the regional planning process. 44 Also, the City of Atlanta is making efforts to promote environmental justice in the development of the Beltline, a redevelopment plan centered on a 22 mile loop encircling the City s urban core :: Still, most local governments have no mechanisms in place to consider environmental justice when making crucial zoning decisions to improve or deny the locations of polluting facilities. Their decisions, as well as those as the state level, can do much to lessen the burden on minority and low-income communities living in the shadow of pollution.

15 The Patterns of Pollution: A Report on Demographics and Pollution in Metro Atlanta Our Report Our Report Study Area To determine the counties for inclusion in the report s study area, we began with the U.S. Census s Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, GA-AL Combined Statistical Area (CSA) which includes 32 Georgia counties and one county in Alabama. 46 With the aim of studying only those counties with urban or suburban populations, we eliminated counties with a population density of less than 400 people per square mile. This filter eliminated 18 of the counties in the CSA. The 14 remaining counties are Barrow, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Paulding and Rockdale (Figure 3). N Legend Miles Figure 3 Population Density People Per Square Mile ,454 1,455-2,269 2,270-3,011 3,012-3,869 3,870-5,088 5,089-6,805 6,806-9,610 9,611-15,122 15,123-32, County Metro Atlanta Area :: 11

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